I have to agree with Pia (ph419always) on this one. I think the best thing to do now is to find a dvd or book that talks about the human body i.e "where do i come from" birds and bees, puberty etc.

Also, because you are a parent.... if you visit the LIBRA (sanitary products) website you can request a sample pack which provides you with a little ziplock purse with tampons liners, pads and an information booklet on periods. In the comment section of the request form, you can state that you are a parent who is trying to teach your child about period and that your daughter is experiencing her first period, so could they please send you a few more products.

Hope this helps a little.

Cheers

my daughter wasnt 9 but i can tell you what i did when she started. First off, when it looked  like it was going to happen, i tried to prepare her so it wouldnt be such a shock and that she'd actually know what was happening.This might be hard at first but the more you and your daughter talk about it, it'll get easier once the intial embarrassment wears off. I took the approach that it wasn't really a big deal and that it happened to all girls sooner or later.Then we looked at the different pads etc. including why some have wings! lol. It wasn't too long before her curiousity got the upper hand and then the questions came and i tried to answer them as matter of factly as i could. When she did get them she was fine with it and didn't seem embarrassed to tell me at all.I hope this might help, although at nine i understand that its quite a bit tougher but remember mum is the role model here and if you try to not make too bigger deal then this attitude might just rub off. Good luck with it, as every mum of a daughter goes though this at some stage. Hope this is at least a small help

cath

I was also nine when I started my first period. I hope you are going to be understanding and explain this this is natures way of making your sure you grow to be a lovely woman and a mother.

My whole family stated early. We all seemed to go through menapause early also. I guess it just amkes sence.

I didn't know what was wrong with me and I tried to hide it because I was afraid they would send me to the hospital and I was scared to death. The next time it happened I again tried to hide it and clean it up and hoped no one would find out. My mother did and she was cruel to me because I tried to hide it and did nothing about it. She was wrong to have done what she did but that is why I am teling you to be supportive and have a little talk. Let her know it is normal. Come to find out my mother knew I was probably going to start and daid nothing to me ever to prepare me.

When I was younger I did blled heavily and did suffer bad cramps. But the older I got the better things were.

She will have larger boobs than anyone in her class also and that is a problem for the other girls and BOYS. They veiw bras as a thing to grab in the back and twist.

I am glad you posted this and wish you all the best of luck. I just wanted to let you know that it is common and what happened to me.

A good book that is friendly in presentation and actually eases anxiety of parent and child.  Can't remember the one I was given.  Also, discussing with her the different brands of pads and which she would like to try might helpl. That way she is making a decision for herself and takes the stress off both of you.

Above all, you being open and honest with her about it and supporting her is going to be the greatest help of all.  A trip to the gp for more advice from a medical point of view might be of some help too.  Children accept what doctors say sometimes easier than what we as parents say to them.

I had my first period when I was 9. I dont know your daughter but for me it wasnt nearly as scary as what the tv shows make it out to be. but then I had a very "open" mother who talked about this sory of stuff (along with lots of others)  with no problem.   Try to explain that now she is a step closer to being a woman and has new and Diffrent responsibilities, one of which is to wear a diper...excuse me, a pad LOL... for a few days out of every month.  Get her her own little calender that she can mark the day she starts and about how long they last.  And also she will know when to expect it next month and can plan her social activities around it if she is self concious about having her period before all her friends.  I hope this works and good luck to you

My Mum introduced me to all that stuff by showing me the vidoes "Where did I come from?" and "what's happening to me" which explains alot about sex, growing up and puberty - from there we then had some open and honest Q&A time, as my Mum also found it difficult to begin to explain this stuff to me. Found the vids great and non-confrontational. Hope they help

awww i'm sorry that your daughter has to deal with this so soon :)

hm... i'm thinking that maybe you should tell her that she's now old enough to provide the beautiful gift of life, just like her mummy... and in order to provide that gift of life, she must get little bits of blood every month... tell her not to be scared, mummy was at first, but without going through this, mummy would never have made you :)

then i think you could go into the specifics of tampons and pads... possibly show her how to use them.. she and you might be uncomfortable with this, so i recommend maybe just decribing how to...

sorry, my daughter is only 8 months so i don't know all too much, but i think this is what i would say to Alisha if this happened :)

i hope i helped..... *cringes* lol

oh, and i tried to find out whether girls stop growing when they start menstruating... but there was a lot of disagreement on the internet about whether this was true or not... i don't want to give you incorrect advice, so i think maybe if you're really worried, you should ask your GP or wait for other people's better advice.. haha :)